Don't Leave Me?
by CyanoticNightmare
Summary: Let's promise one another that we are going to stick together. No matter what the world throws at us, we will stick together til the end of time.
1. Chapter 1

I wrapped my arms around my legs, shaking from fear, exhilaration. and exhaustion, all I wanted to do right now is curl up in the cold snow and have a nice long nap and forget abut everything that just happened, I looked up at the others who were all beginning to stand up around me, making me feel small and a bit pathetic for not getting up yet. I looked over at Ashley who was dusting snow off of herself and looking frozen, already sniffling a bit and not even looking at me and instead looking over at the only other blonde here right now with small adoration and relief, Samantha, who was being helped up by a beat up looking Mike.

All of us were beat up actually so it wasn't that big of a surprise to see him like it as well, especially after breaking a lightbulb with his damn hand and whatever else he went through throughout the night, the bruise on my forehead hurt like a bitch and every time I gritted my teeth it would ache, my ankle also hurt when I moved it the wrong way, it was most likely sprained, I could barely walk on it but I would manage. I had to.

I noticed a movement from the corner of my eye and jerked my head in that direction, afraid that it was more wendigos, I had even begun to freak out and stand up until the figures came into view and I saw it was Jessica leaning heavily on Matt who was carrying her pretty much, that calmed me a bit, happy to see the two survived, and I fell to the ground once more, not in the mood to stand up as my heart began to ache as I thought of Josh out there all alone. I lifted my head once more and behind Jessica and Matt was one more figure limping a bit behind them. My eyes widened as I couldn't believe it, there was no way.

"Josh!" I heard myself say without even realizing it and I stood up all the way and began to limp towards him quickly, not even remembering standing up in the first place. He stared at me in both fear and fascination as I made my way up to him, a huge grin spread across my face as I pulled him into a hug, "Bro! I- I came back for you in the shed after Mike apparently left you," I turned a glare towards Mike but he was too busy staring at Jessica who cried out in happiness to see him and was going on about how he came for her and that Matt helped her, said male at her side making sure she didn't fall, "but you were already gone! And-" I could feel tears beginning to spill out down my cheeks as I pulled him closer, I've never really cried in front of Josh, the last time I did was when I was 14 and my mom had died, other than that I have never tried showing any sadness around him again because of how uncomfortable he looked then.

Josh stayed quiet as he hesitantly hugged me back, making me feel awful for what I had done to him that night, I felt horrible about tying him up in the damn shed and not with us in the lodge, or even tying him up at all, he wasn't dangerous, and it was a stupid idea, I should have never of gone through with it. I could hear the helicopters above us, whirling loudly as they landed on a flat area near us, taking me by surprise and I smiled at Josh but he just looked sadly at me, during a time like this I am glad about Emily's fast thinking of going up to the tower to call for help. Ashley ran up to us and gave Josh a cautious look before she grabbed me and helped me over to the Helicopter, Josh followed slowly, eventually getting help from Sam who looked peeved off but worried all the same for the darker skinned male who just continued to stare off, avoiding the gazes of the other 4 who just glared at him, most likely blaming him for the entire ordeal.

Once we piled into the Helicopter, Jessica sat closely to Matt who held her to his side as she dozed in and out of consciousness. He seemed desperate to keep her up and I understood why, she most likely had a concussion and falling asleep would not be a good thing, at all. Ashley sat at my side with Sam on the other side of her and Josh at the end seat. I tried to catch Mike's eye but he stared at the ground and back up to where Matt and Jessica were sitting, I could feel the tenseness between all of us as we thought of all the choices we had made that night, all of us in complete and utter silence, having no idea how to speak of what happened and knowing as soon as we got home that we would be questioned about what happened on the mountain. And I was not about to throw Josh under the bus for what he did, I planned on helping him and making sure he got the help he needed.

I clenched my fists as I remembered how terrible of a friend I was the past year and didn't notice how bad he was. I should have known that he wasn't 'fine' like he continuously said he was. I blame myself for all of this happening, if I would have just stayed by his side and stopped hanging out so much with Ashley, who honestly was my anchor during this, though I didn't have romantic feelings for her like everyone thought I did, no one would ever realize that I was actually in love with Josh but had no idea how to ever tell him, so distancing myself from him the past year seemed like a good idea at the time, now I know I was being a complete dumbass and would probably never earn his respect or affection due to it all. Hiding that you're in love with your best is hard to do.

I felt a nudge and I turned towards Ashley who gave me a reassuring smile, taking my hand and squeezing it gently as she wiped the tears I didn't realize I had from my eyes, she seemed to be the who knew that I loved Josh, I never even told her, she just. . . knew. Behind her I could see both Josh and Sam giving us both strange looks, Sam seemed fully focused on the back of Ashley's head and Josh focused on our hands, it was a bit uncomfortable to be honest, there was no point in speaking to one another now, the blades have begun to turn and there was no way we could talk over the loud noise without screaming, and we've done enough screaming to last us a lifetime.

During the ride I looked across from me at Jessica who was looking around sadly, still gripping onto Matt weakly as she shivered and curled up against him, I could see Mike looking sadly over to the blonde girl who looked over at him as well, giving him a weak smile and sighing, turning away when Mike never returned it. She met eyes with me and I held my hand out, she took it and I squeezed it, rubbing the back of her palm with my thumb and she tried to smile again, but coughed into her other hand, pulling back and letting out a choked sob when blood was covering it, Matt gasped and whispered to her, or himself, I couldn't hear over the noise. I frowned and let go of her hand, feeling worried for the girl who before today I had never been that huge of a fan of. It was no surprise that Jessica was a bit of a bitch, but even she didn't deserve this to happen to her.

As soon as we landed at what looked to be a hospital, everything became a blur, it looked to be daylight out, but whatever time it was I had no idea, all I know is that they took Jessica away first, then Josh who protested the entire way as they tried to calm him down, than me when they noticed me limping, I lost grip of Ashley who tried to follow me as she got pulled a different way with the others who didn't get nearly as hurt, I could see Sam wrapping an arm around Ashley and waving to me as I got pulled into a stinky white room, it smelt like sterilization and death. I hissed at the bright walls as they sat me down and began to check my injuries.

"I'm fine, dammit! Where's Josh?" The nurses completely ignored me and told me to strip, I groaned as I did so, feeling my muscles aching from not using them all that much before and suddenly using every muscle I have in fast motions and the nurses checked me for any other injuries, but my many layers seemed to protect me from not only the cold, but from evil demonic creatures who need to go back to wherever the fuck they came from.

"The police want to question you after this." A young nurse told me, she looked not much older than me, she was pretty I suppose, dark skin, hair, and eyes, innocent demeanor.

"I want to see Josh first." I said and she raised an eyebrow, lowering her clipboard.

"Josh?"

"The one with the overalls!" I explained and she made an O face, looking at her clipboard and chewed on her lip.

"He's with his psychiatrist right now, Dr. Hill." I glared at nothing, knowing that that doctor wouldn't help Josh at all, hell, he seemed to be the reason Josh got so fucked up, well, more than he already was. I will definitely need to help him find a new doctor. "And he specifically asked for none of you to come speak to him." She finished and I looked at her in shock, not believing what she just said.

"But I have to see him! He's my bro!" The nurse looked puzzled.

"Bro? You both don't look related at all-" I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Not actual blood related bros, he's my best friend! I have to see him!" I tried to get up off of the bed but she pushed me back down, from how weak I was I fell right back down without a fuss.

"You need to rest. . . .Christopher. . . .Davidson." She said, looking at her clipboard for my name and I scoffed, turning my head.

"A girl wants to see you." Another nurse said, looking at the door I saw Ashley standing there looking worried and when she saw me she smiled and ran up to my bed. She grabbed my hands and jerked in what was to be I'm assuming, holding in her sobs. She looked over me and I noticed that she had a bandage over her eye.

"Oh, don't mind that. Apparently I burst a vein in my eye from stress. I'll be fine Chris! Enough about me, how are you?" She said and another girl stepped in behind her, I gave a nod to Samantha who returned it and stood on the other side of me, giving me a half-assed smile.

"I'm as good as I possibly can be in this situation Ash." I said, pushing myself up into a sitting position and sighed, rubbing my face and knocking my glasses off in the process. Sam picked up the glasses and sat them on the table next to my cot. "This night was just so. . . .Fucked." I said and both of the girls nodded in agreement, "One thing. . . .because of this whole ordeal, it is most likely that. . . .well, we all might split up."

"Why would we? We all went through the same thing. . .I would prefer spending time with people who believe me." Sam said, looking at me in confusion.

"But do you really thinking that the others will want to? Most likely they'll try to push it to the back of their mind and act like it never happened. Everyone has their own ways of dealing with situations. . ." Ashley said and Sam frowned, looking down then grabbed my other hand then grabbed Ashley's free hand.

"Then let's promise one another that we are going to stick together. No matter what the world throws at us, we will stick together." Sam gave us a smile and I couldn't help but smile back, already feeling my hopes go up a bit. I looked at Ashley who stared at Sam in astonishment then a smile spread across her face, it wasn't complete happiness, but it was coming.

"Promise." Ashley said breathlessly and the girls made eye contact for a few moments, eyes expressing adoration, they both looked at me, eyes still full of that wonderful, foreign expression and I felt my throat seize up a bit, never realizing how much that look would make me feel so protected, I couldn't help the tears welling up in my eyes when I nodded in agreement.

~ 2 Years Later ~

"How can you be so daft about him." I heard laughed into my ear and a grin was plastered onto my face as I looked over at the blonde at my side who was staring at me as if to figure me out and I shrugged, the smile becoming more smug every second, I really had no idea and when I finally saw him again I could figure it out, for now all I could do is wait. A darker skinned male came in talking loudly on his phone about reservations, hanging up his cellphone when he came into the living room and grinning when he saw me sitting on the plush white couch of the huge, laregly expensive, apartment in Kansas City, Missouri, far from home sweet home, Washington State.

"Chris! It's great to see you here. What's the occasion?"

"Matt! Apparently Chris here wants us to go help him find his long lost boyfriend, Joshua Washington!" Jessica said as she stood up, making it a bit dramatic as she sauntered over to Matt and proceeded to go around him and jump on his back as if it was a normal thing and Matt didn't look fazed at all, he just stared at me in curiosity. I ignored the boyfriend comment and just nodded, really hoping that maybe they would accept, but I couldn't exactly force them to help.

"Josh? You want to find Josh after all these years?" He said in disbelief and I nodded, standing up and straightening the jacket I wore, clearing my throat.

"It's only been two years. It hasn't been that long. . . And after he went missing the night we were all interviewed. . . ,I just. I want to know how he's been and that he's still alive. I can't live my life without knowing where he is or how he has been holding up, It willeat at me until I finally break down. . . ."

"Well, i'm sorry Chris, but you can count me out. . . I don't think I could ever forgive Josh for what he did to us." Jessica said softly, getting off of Matt and touching her still noticeable scar on her chest and I held in my outburst that it wasn't his fault that there were monsters up on the mountains, there was no way he could have known. "I'd love to help. . . .but. . . I don't think I'm ready."

"Which is completely understandable Jess." Matt said, holding a hand out to her and she nodded, grabbing it and squeezing it a bit, I always wondered why they haven't gotten together yet, they seemed perfect for each other. I also always wonder why her and Mike broke it off. Four months after the ordeal Mike just up and left, texting us where he would be and that he'd love to see us all again one day, but probably not too soon. I'm going to track him down next, see if he would want to help me, last I knew he moved to New York. "But Chris, man. . . .I'm not exactly ready myself. Josh is a good guy, but I need to be here for Jess."

"I can take care of myself Matthew." Jessica said standing with her hands in her hips, scowling at Matt playfully.

"I know you can, Warrior Princess!" Matt said, laughing when Jessica flipped her hair over her shoulder, I let out my own chuckle and nodded as I walked towards their front door, deciding to excuse myself for they seemed happy together.

"Well, it was great to see you guys again, I gott-"

"Don't leave yet Chris. We should catch up. Stay for a drink." Matt said, coming up to me and giving me a charming smile that could make royalty bend to his will. I rubbed the back of my neck and nodded.

"I don't want to intrude. . . .but, Sure. Why not! Ash and Sam will understand."


	2. Figured

The ride wasn't exactly enjoyable, but what could a man do when all he wanted to do was find his best friend who has probably forgotten about him by now. Of course in my heart I wish dearly he hasn't forgotten about me, but these days you never know what you could be running after. Especially after everything that happened. I wrapped my arms around myself as the us drove on to where I last knew Mike was at. New York City. From messaging him a few times and getting only one answer that consisted of a time and address I thought I did pretty well at finding him. He wasn't even all that hard to find.

"Please, what do I have to do to not make you do this?" He asked and I snapped my head towards him, narrowing my eyes as I looked away from the intricate paintings hanging on the walls in front of me that honestly, with Mike being Mike, I never would have thought he'd of had them. He noticed me staring at them and explained to me that he was actually a huge lover of art, but seeing as we never got to really know him deep down, we wouldn't have known. He explained the only person who bothered was Sam who shared his love for art but he hasn't seen her in what seems like forever. I told him it was his fault for leaving in the first place.

"Mike. What exactly happened between. . . you and Jess?" I asked, completely ignoring his question which he sneered a bit at but shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away from me and at the carpet that I know isn't all that interesting. He opened his mouth then shut it again, obviously trying to figure out how to word it in a way that didn't sound offensive to either party.

"We ended on. . .tense terms of course." He began and I walked over to his couch, sitting down and feeling the couch sink under me, I sighed in comfort and urged him to continue. "It was right after we got saved actually. . . You saw how terrible she looked. Not that that is the reason of course, it was just so. . . bad. Worse than the other time I saw her. Before she fell down into the mines." Mike came over and sat in one of the equally plush chairs across from me and chewed on his lip. "After we were saved I wanted to help Jessica, but I felt so. . . guilty. . . .guilty about not going into the mines to go find her. I assumed she was dead and went after one of those things, which I had no idea what it was at the time and how dangerous it was. But I should have found a way down after her and been her savior. Not Matt. Me." He put his face in his hands and took a deep breath. "That was just the first." When he said that I looked over at him in confusion.

"The first what?"

"First time I noticed how much Matt was. . . .was such a caring, kind soul." He admitted, surprising me. "I never once before thought of Matt in any terms other than that he was. . . he was a threat. I thought of him much like wolves think of other wolves. I wanted to be the alpha, but the alpha isn't always the one who wins. Sometimes it's the guy you least suspect. The one that was invisible but blinding at the same time and had a heart of gold." Mike closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Sounds like you're in love with him." I drawled, making Mike snap his head to look at me in shock.

"I'm not. I just. . . I admire him. And hate him. I want to be LIKE him, not with him. Jessica is very happy with him and I wish them the best of luck."

"But they're not even together. They're just roommates." I said and Mike once again looked surprised as he stared at me for a few seconds, as if trying to process what I said. "But that's not why I'm here. I want to know why you and Jessica broke it off before I get to my main point." Mike nodded, chewing on his bottom lip in thought.

"Where was I? Ah, So after Jessica finally got released from the hospital she was still. . . very bad. She could barely walk sometimes from weakness but I was able to help a little. . . .But I could never really have a conversation with her without it turning either sour or one sided on her part. And the stress of trying to take care of her as well as trying to keep up my status in school. . .It was just too much. I couldn't help her the way I wished. So I broke up with her, the way I did it wasn't exactly the best either. . . .I sort of cheated on her." I glared at him and almost got up but Mike stopped me, "I didn't want to hurt her. I just went out drinking one night and met this girl who was all over me, calling me a stud and saying how hot I was. I couldn't help it. Like I said, I'm an Alpha, I can't control myself."

"Like hell you couldn't." I growled, straightening my glasses and staring through the frames at the dark haired male who looked at me with such regret and sorrow I had to soften up a bit.

"She walked in on me eating this girl out, girl had her legs around my head and we were enjoying ourselves. Jessica walked in and said nothing, just started crying and walked out, calling Matt." Mike explained and I cringed a bit, I didn't need to know what Mike was doing with a random street whore. "I got angry. I blamed her for cheating on me with Matt. I know now that they weren't having sex. But I jumped to a conclusion and we argued. Then I kissed her, she pushed me away and wiped at herself, that's when I remembered I was just eating out a girl and Jessica called me a disgusting pig, I went back and continued to fuck the other girl angrily, she loved it, and the next day Jessica was gone and the girl was still there. I kicked her out and spent the rest of the day regretting everything and I knew that there was no way Jessica would ever be with me again. So I moved away, to here." Mike finished, sighing and rubbing his forehead. "Now, why the hell are you here? I know what you're doing but why tell me?"

"I want you to come help me find him." I said and Mike rolled his eyes.

"Fuck no."

"Why the hell not? He's your friend too." I said, trying to keep calm.

"No he's not. He hasn't been my friend since that fucked up night and I'm not about to forgive him for that. We almost died." Mike shouted and I stood up, clenching my fists in anger as I stared down at Mike.

"Fuck you Mike."

"He's not right in the head." Mike said, standing up and since we were about the same height we could look one another right in the eye. "Josh is a fucked up sociopath."

"He's ill." I growled and Mike barked out a laugh.

"Yea. ''ill'. Is that what he told you?" Mike said, grinning but it had no humor in it. I shook my head and turned away, making my way towards the front door and not bothering to look back at Mike.

"I'm guessing Mike didn't work out?" Sam asked through the phone and I could hear Ashley in the back, practicing her violin.

"No. Guys a fucking prick." I growled and I could hear Sam chuckle through the violin. I stood in the street, it was raining at the moment and watching people bustle by and whisper to one another about me was new. I was currently in a small town where everyone knew everyone but I heard from a few of them that there is a young man around here that is quiet and secluded in his works. Turns out he's a painter. But no one has ever seen him unless he is buying food or painting supplies. I forget what the place is called, something confusing. 'Tarwe' I don't even know what it means.

"Maybe I should have gone instead. You're too emotionally invested in this search."

"What? And you're not?" I snapped and I heard Sam take a huge inhale, and I knew I messed up by saying that.

"Chris. . .Don't let your emotions take over. I know how much you care and love Josh. But he isn't going anywhere soon. You said you were in Tarwe now?" She asked and I said yes, "Good. Now just talk to some people. You said you heard of a painter? Go to the paint store or whatever and ask the owner. They most likely have seen him."

"I wish you were here." I whimpered, looking down and seeing a young girl staring at me with wide eyes. I blinked down at her in confusion.

"I will be actually. Tonight I'm leaving to go with you. Ashley has to stay here and take care of our dogs." I nodded, understanding.

"Well, give Ashley a kiss for the both of us then."

"Yes sir. Do not go after Josh until I am there, you got it?" I said yes then hung up one I gave her kisses through the phone. The little girl still stood by me, now smiling. The little girl looked to be about 6 or 7 years old, had bleach blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and huge green eyes that stared up at me. She was wearing an overall pink skirt with black leggings underneath and a white long sleeve shirt. The overalls had a picture of a cartoon tiger on it, Tigger from Winnie The Pooh actually.

"Was that your girlfriend?" She teased and I chuckled a bit.

"Something like that." I said, and it was true. Sam, Ashley, and I had a confusing relationship. I'll get more into that later.

"Ohh, is she pretty?" The little girl asked and I nodded, looking to the side to see the girl's mother, she was close enough to hear our conversation and watched us like a hawk as she bought some produce from the stand manager. "What's her name?"

"Well, there is two actually. Sam and Ashley. The one I was on the phone with was Samantha." I explained and the girl's eyes widened.

"You can be with two people at once?" She gasped and I froze, not really sure what to say here and honestly worried. The mom came over, hearing the question and smiled at the little girl.

"Of course you can sweetie. It's not very common but it happens." She explained and the girl made a ''Whoa" sound and grinned up at me. "I'm sorry about her sir, she's just very excited, not often do we get tourists." I took this time to check out the mother, she looked to only be mid 20s, meaning that she had this girl when she was about 16 or 17. She looked much like the little girl, but with dirty blonde hair instead of bleach blonde and had the game bright green eyes. She had a similar outfit on as well, blue jean overalls with a long sleeve black shirt and black converse. She was splattered in paint which interested me.

"Do you paint?" I asked her and she looked down at her outfit.

"Ah, yes. I actually own the local paint store slash class. I teach a painting class if you'd like to come in some time and take a look. I'm Margaret Manson." She held her hand out to me, "And this is Isabella." I shook her hand and Isabella who held hers out as well.

"I would love to. I'm Chris Davis. . .While I'm here I may as well try some things." I said, chuckling nervously, "I'm not that great of a painter soooo."

"Ah, don't worry Chris, that's the point of the painting class. To help people improve. In fact, if you would like, We have a very talented painter in our midsts that is very quiet but a wonderful painter, he could help you if you'd like."

"Never heard of a painting tutor." I joked and Margaret laughed too.

"Yeah. Doesn't happen often. But the boy needs to be more social. He rarely speaks to me and says nothing to anyone else. He's very. . .distant." She explained and I hummed, trying not to let out my excitement for maybe being able to meet Josh again.

"Could I come over tomorrow? Samantha will be joining me here and I'd love to bring her with." I said and Margaret's eyes twinkled with delight.

"Of course! Only Sam? No Ashley?" She asked and I shook my head.

"One of us needs to stay home and take care of the dogs. And they believe I need a break from work. . .so." I shrugged and Margaret nodded in understanding.

"I totally understand. I have a few dogs of my own. And my partner is obsessed with them and thinks I work too much as well. But it's not work if you enjoy it, right?" I nodded, smiling. She took out a card from her wallet and handed me it, I looked at it and noticed it was her information and her stores information. "Just come to me if you have any questions about this old town, my families been here for decades and know about everything that happens within in."

''Not everything apparently' I thought and smiled at her, nodding.

"Of course! I'll be sure to go to you." She nodded and turned, holding her hand out to Isabella who grabbed it and they walked off, I smiled and sent a text to Sam that I have an idea where Josh will be tomorrow. She replied instantly and said she was driving so to text her later tonight.

I made my way through the town until I found a nice little hotel and got a room, it wasn't nearly as nasty as I expected it to be, in fact it was probably the cleanest hotel room I've ever seen. I sat my stuff down and laid on the bed, sighing as I rubbed my face and smiled at being able to see Josh again after two years. Then again it might not even be Josh, it might just be a random guy who moved in one day. I frowned at that thought and nodded, now expecting the worse because I don't want to put my hopes up too much. I turned away from the flashing light of my alarm clock and closed my eyes, allowing sleep to take over.


End file.
